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You know, some food, no matter how delicious, is just never going to be photogenic. Case in point, this dish. It is delicious – so delicious…and looks like glop.
Dinner last night came after a bout of me changing my mind over and over again. I really wanted to use my cauliflower and I really wanted something not too heavy. And split peas. I was just feeling veggies. And, voila, this was born.
I think the standard method of cooking cauliflower is boiling but I kind of hate boiling. To me, it represents a farewell to half the nutritional value of my food. So, I went with roasting! And man did it work well.
And you know my crowning achievement? My roommate loved it. Thank. Goodness. Score.
Here is how it’s done!
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
salt & pepper
1 cup red split peas
3.5 cups veggie or chicken stock (split)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp sunflower seed oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsps fresh minced ginger
2 garlic cloves. minced
2.5 tsp cumin seeds
2.5 tsp mustard seeds
1.5 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp turmeric
.5 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cloves, ground
4 cups of baby spinach leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.
Toss the cauliflower florets with a little bit of salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of sunflower seed oil. Spread the florets out on a baking sheet so they’re all in one layer and roast for approx 30 minutes. Check every 15 minutes or so to ensure no burning occurs.
Put the split peas and 2.5 cups of the broth into a sauce pan with the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook on low for about 20 minutes. Very low. These suckers don’t need much to cook!
In a separate pan heat the remaining butter and oil and saute the onions, garlic, and ginger for four minutes on medium heat. Once the onions are translucent, add the cumin and next five ingredients and mix well with the onions. Cook for two minutes and then add the split peas, cauliflower, and enough broth to bring it to a smooth consistency. Add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted.
Serve this with your favorite rice – mine is Jasmine. Delicious aromatic jasmine rice.
This would be a good meatless monday meal – if you’re into that. I am. But, I swapped meatless Monday with Sunday. Because that’s how I roll. No rules.
You could also serve this with a meat entree, or with naan, or with raita, or with all of those, or alone. It’s pretty dang delicious and full of healthiness!
Man, I love Indian food.
What’s your favorite Indian dish?